Sunday, August 10, 2014

San Diego Padres first baseman Tommy Medica was removed from Saturday night's game after being hit by a pitch on the helmet, as tweeted by MLB.com's Corey Brock. Medica appeared to be suffering no ill-effects from the incident but the Padres did not want to take any chances with the risk of a potential concussion. Brock later reported that other than feeling slightly light-headed, Medica did not have any problems:

Good news on #Padres Medica. He was a little light-headed, but doing fine otherwise. Looked at by the Pirates team doctor, checked out fine.
— Corey Brock (@FollowThePadres) August 10, 2014

The incident looked much more serious than Medica's condition suggests, as can be seen in the video accompanying Brock's article. Pirates reliever Jared Hughes threw a fastball well inside that struck the 26-year-old in the back of the head as he turned away. Medica told Brock that the pitch cracked the back of his helmet. Although the reports are all positive thus far, San Diego are likely to continue to be cautious with their first baseman, as concussion symptoms can be unpredictable and flare up some time after the original incident.

Medica has been one of the few bright spots in a light-hitting Padres offense, putting up a .275/.322/.473 line in 180 plate appearances. His OPS+ of 128 ranks second on the team to Seth Smith for players with at least 100 PA and thus far he has managed to maintain at least some of the power he demonstrated in the minors (.529 SLG over five seasons) despite the unfriendly hitting environment of Petco Park.

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